How to Create Butterfly Wing Nail Art

1. Prepare your nails. Clean, trim, and file your nails. Push back your cuticles and apply some cuticle oil. Lastly, wipe your nails down with some rubbing alcohol or nail polish remover. This will get rid of any oils that might prevent the polish from sticking.

2. Apply a base coat and let it dry. Start by applying the base coat to just the tips of your nails, then apply more base coat over your entire nail.

3. Apply a coat of white polish. This will help the gradient layer show up better. If you can't find any white polish, find the lightest color from your gradient, and use that instead.

4. Paint 2 to 3 stripes of polish on a makeup sponge. Get one of those triangle-shaped sponges you use to apply foundation with. Choose two to three colors of nail polish. Paint one stripe of each color onto the sponge. Make sure that they are all touching. Most people use flat polish, but you can try metallic or pearlescent instead.

Choose different shades of the same color for an ombre effect.

5. Press the sponge against your nail in a rolling motion. Orient the stripes horizontally, then press the sponge against your nail. Gently roll it across your nail. Don't worry if you get polish on your skin.

6. Gently tap the sponge in place. This will help soften the lines between the colors and blend them together.

7. Let the polish dry then repeat. Allow the polish to dry for about 1 minute first, then reapply the polish to the sponge. Roll the sponge across your nail once more, then tap your nail with the sponge to blend the colors.

8. Let the polish dry, then apply a top coat. Let the polish dry for about 2 minutes, then apply a top coat. Let the top coat dry completely before moving on. If you used flat polish for the gradient, consider using clear glitter polish instead a clear top coat. This will give your butterfly wings extra sparkle.

9. Paint an angled line across the bottom of your nail using a striper brush. Find a thin, pointed, stripper brush and dip it into flat, black polish. Paint a line going from the bottom center of your nail up to center side.

It does not matter if you angle the line towards the left or right side of your nail. It needs to be the same on each nail, however.

The line can be straight or slightly curved.

10. Outline your nail in more black polish. Using the same striper brush, outline your entire nail using black polish. Try to get as close to your cuticle as you can. Once again, don't worry if the polish gets onto your skin.

For a twist, paint only above the line that you drew in the previous step. Leave the nail below the line unpainted.

11. Add 3 to 4 lines perpendicular to the first line. Start from the angled line that you grew and finish at the tip/edge of your nail. Try to space these lines as evenly as you can. The lines will be a little slanted.

Because of how small your pinky is, consider doing only 2 to 3 lines.

For a more realistic wing, make the curved lines thicker at the top of your nail and thinner on the sides.

12. Connect the lines at the top with curved lines. Starting on the leftmost outline of you nail, draw a small, upward-curved line towards the first vertical line. Draw another small curve towards the next line, and the next. Think of it like connecting the spokes on a web.

Try to make these curves follow the same angle as your horizontal line.

Don't worry if there are gaps between the curves and the top outline of your nail.

13. Fill in the gaps. You may have some gaps between the top outline of you nail and the connecting lines. Carefully fill these gaps in with more black polish.

14. Add some white dots to the top black portion you filled in. You can use a toothpick, a dotter, or a clean striper brush to do this. The dots can all be the same size or they can be different sizes.

15. Seal everything in with a top coat, then let it dry. You can use a regular top coat or a matte one. If you used glitter polish earlier, use regular, glossy polish. If you use matte, you will dull down the glitter.

Things You'll Need

Base coat→Lavender Violets 8ML Base Coat

Top coat→Lavender Violets 8ML No Wipe Top Coat

2 to 3 nail polish colors

Makeup sponge, wedge-shaped

Black polish, flat→Lavender Violets 8ML Black Gel Nail Polish

White polish, flat→Lavender Violets White Gel Nail Polish